AlbertEdward didn’t let me go for a long time. Even after my sobs had slowed and my breathing steadied, his arms stayed wrapped around me as though his body could shield me from something neither of us could see. My cheek rested against the solid warmth of his chest, and I listened to his heart hammering beneath my ear, faster than usual, unsteady. I had scared him.“Albert,” he whispered eventually, his lips brushing against my hair. “What did you see? Tell me what you saw.”I tensed. The dream clawed at the edges of my mind, still raw, still too vivid. But the thought of speaking it aloud… of telling him that I had seen Emon tearing him apart, breaking the bond, laughing while I stood helpless, made bile rise in my throat.So I shook my head, clutching tighter to him. “It was just… a nightmare. Nothing real.”Edward pulled back slightly, enough to search my face. His eyes glowed faintly in the moonlight, worry etched into every line of him. “Albert…”“I’m fine,” I cut in, forcin
AlbertThe Still Waters Pack was beginning to feel less like a place I was trapped in and more like a place I belonged. Slowly, almost against my will, I had let myself settle into the rhythm of it… the quiet mornings filled with birdsong, the way the pack house always smelled faintly of fresh bread, and the constant, unyielding presence of Edward.It wasn’t perfect. I still battled whispers in the halls and the shadows of doubt in my mind, but here, with Edward’s arms around me at night, I was starting to breathe again. My nausea had lessened; the gnawing ache of loneliness wasn’t quite as sharp. And though I wouldn’t admit it out loud, I sometimes found myself smiling at little things… the way Cess always carried twice as many books as he needed, or how Edward absentmindedly rubbed my stomach as if checking that I was still real and there.That night, I curled against Edward’s chest as usual, my body sinking into the warmth of him. His heartbeat was a steady thrum against my ear, an
Emon paced the length of his apartment like a caged beast, every step punctuated by the restless drum of his heartbeat. His fists clenched and unclenched, nails digging into his palms until tiny half-moon welts rose in his skin. The words he had heard from his spy echoed over and over again, louder with every repetition, until it was the only sound in the room.Albert is with Edward. Albert went back to him. Albert is carrying his pup.He stopped dead center in the room, his chest heaving as though he had been running. His face twisted, no longer the mask of charm he wore so well, but raw, feral anger.“My Albert…” The words were broken, whispered like a prayer and a curse at once. Then, louder, harsher: “Mine!”The sound reverberated off the walls, followed by the crash of a glass that he hurled against the floor. Shards skittered across the hardwood like splinters of his sanity. He snatched another, the whiskey bottle this time, and flung it against the far wall. It shattered, amber
EmonTwo months, two weeks, and three days.That’s how long it had been since Albert slipped through my fingers. Since his scent faded from the sheets, leaving only the memory of his warmth. Since the apartment grew quiet and hollow, every corner echoing with the absence of him.And still, I searched.The days blurred into one another, a restless march of dead ends and gnawing hunger. I barely slept, barely ate… what use were such trivial things when the only thing that mattered was out there, somewhere, slipping further and further from me with each sunrise?But I was not idle. No. I had work to do.Bibi Kamwe’s words still rang in my ears, sharper than the edge of a blade: “Three moons, boy. You have three moons to gather all that is required. Fail, and the bond cannot be undone. You will have to wait for an unknown amount of time till the auspicious time comes again.”Three moons. Three months. And now the sands in the hourglass were almost gone.The list she had given me was burne
AlbertI woke up with the taste of him still on my lips.Edward had kissed me until I thought that I would forget how to breathe, until every wall I had built inside me crumbled like dust. He hadn’t touched me like a fragile thing, not this time. He had touched me like I was his equal, his mate, his home.And now, as I blinked against the low light filtering through the curtains, I felt it deep in my bones… something had changed.The ache that had lived in my chest for weeks, that restless, gnawing dread, the sickness that had plagued me like death, all was gone. My wolf purred low inside me, calm in a way she hadn’t been since before I had left home and met Emon. Even the queasiness I had come to expect every morning was missing, replaced by an almost startling peace.I turned my head and found Edward beside me, his golden eyes half-lidded with sleep, his arm still draped over my waist. He looked younger in the quiet, his face unguarded. Not the Alpha. Not the protector. Just a man w
EdwardAlbert’s question about Adrian still lingered in my mind, a shadow I chose to ignore. Not out of malice, never that, but because the moment wasn’t right. He was still fragile, still doubting his worth, and if I handed him another reason to spiral, I would lose him again to fear. Tonight, I wanted to strip that fear away until all that remained was Albert and the truth between us.He was sitting on the edge of the bed after a long day when I turned toward him, lost in thought, his brows furrowed and lips drawn tight. I could read the storm on his face, but I had no intention of letting it consume him. Not tonight.I walked over slowly, the weight of my steps deliberate, and when he looked up, I saw it… that flicker of uncertainty, the question he had asked me still burning in his eyes. I answered it with a kiss before he could speak.Our mouths met, soft at first, as though I were asking permission. He let out the faintest sound, a sigh that spoke more than words, and that was a